The present invention relates, in general, to electronics, and more particularly, to methods of forming semiconductor devices and structure.
In the past, the semiconductor industry utilized various methods and structures to form Schottky diodes. As the ability to integrate various components on a single integrated circuit increased, it became desirable to integrate Schottky diodes onto semiconductor substrates with other semiconductor components. Examples of such Schottky diodes are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,185 issued to Todd et al on May 23, 1995, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,019,377 issued to Hideaki Tsuchiko on Mar. 28, 2006. In some applications, it was desirable to have Schottky diodes that had a high breakdown voltage, a low forward resistance, and a low forward voltage. However, it was extremely difficult to integrate a Schottky diode onto a semiconductor substrate and still provide both a high breakdown voltage (for example 500 V or greater), a low forward voltage, and a low forward resistance (for example less than about 100 ohms).
Accordingly, it is desirable to integrate a Schottky diode onto a semiconductor substrate with other semiconductor components and to form the Schottky diode with a high breakdown voltage and a low forward resistance.
For simplicity and clarity of the illustration, elements in the figures are not necessarily to scale, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. As used herein current carrying electrode means an element of a device that carries current through the device such as a source or a drain of an MOS transistor or an emitter or a collector of a bipolar transistor or a cathode or anode of a diode, and a control electrode means an element of the device that controls current through the device such as a gate of an MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. For clarity of the drawings, doped regions of device structures are illustrated as having generally straight line edges and precise angular corners. However, those skilled in the art understand that due to the diffusion and activation of dopants, the edges of doped regions generally may not be straight lines and the corners may not be precise angles.